Henrik Lundqvist left the ice six minutes in at 12:06 p.m., forcing his teammates to tie a target around the posts in the starter’s crease for 14 minutes. When Lundqvist returned, he lasted only six more minutes before coach Alain Vigneault ordered him off ice for good at 12:26 p.m.

Tim Webb, a special assistant to the equipment manager, raced down the hall, strapped on gear and replaced Lundqvist, certainly earning himself at least one free meal this week in Pittsburgh.

Lundqvist “just wasn’t feeling well,” Vigneault said later, but it was an agonizingly nervous hour to say the least before the coach provided that assurance.

“(Lundqvist) tried for the first little part, and then I just told him to get off the ice,” Vigneault said. “He’ll be fine tomorrow. (The ailment was) nothing that we needed him to be out there (and fight through) today.”

The third-seed Rangers (46-27-9, 101 points) already must open this first-round series against the second-seed Penguins (48-26-8, 104 points) Wednesday night without captain Ryan McDonagh, an unquantifiable loss. Vigneault confirmed that his top defenseman will miss at least Game 1 after McDonagh skated prior to practice without touching his stick with his reportedly-broken right hand.

Losing Lundqvist, though, would be catastrophic, despite forwards Eric Staal, Viktor Stalberg and Mats Zuccarello all being healthy enough to play and defenseman Dan Girardi just a Tuesday full practice away.

Henrik Lundqvist was voted Team MVP for the eighth time in his career this season.

( Adam Hunger/USA Today Sports)

Pens No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury returned to practice Monday and reportedly is symptom-free from the concussion that sidelined him since March 31. Pittsburgh is the NHL’s hottest team, winning 14 of 16 down the stretch, and Lundqvist is the X-factor behind the Blueshirts’ confidence in the face of that adversity.

He was one of the central figures in the Rangers’ 2014 second-round comeback from a 3-1 series deficit against the Penguins when– as the Daily News reported earlier this season – Pittsburgh was not worried about losing to the Rangers and dreaded only the then-mighty Boston Bruins.

Fleury called Lundqvist’s antics after the 4-1 Penguins win “baby stuff.” Pittsburgh won three of the team’s four meetings this season, all from Feb. 10 on. This rivalry is heated and it will only get more intense, particularly the head-to-head battle between Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Rangers defenseman Marc Staal, with Lundqvist in the middle of it all.

“I think there was a bounty on my head,” Staal said Monday. “As a team, though, when you’re playing well, you’re playing hard defensively and you try to frustrate your opponent. That’s no different with Sid, (Evgeni) Malkin, (Kris) Letang, (Phil) Kessel — those guys want room and need room to create.

“And when we’re doing a good job of stifling them, that emotion and competitiveness just comes out,” Staal said, adding confidently: “And it’s gonna be no different again this series.”